1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mounting and clamping a cutting disk, blade or wheel to an arbor and, more particularly, is concerned with a mounting assembly which employs a pair of flexible endless members in the form of rubber O-rings to apply a uniform resilient grip on opposite sides of a cutting disk with the O-rings seated in continuous grooves formed in a pair of end plates being disposed on opposite sides of the cutting disk and clamping the disk therebetween.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various arrangements have been proposed and utilized heretofore to mount and clamp a circular cutting or grinding blade or wheel to a spindle, arbor or shaft. Representative of the prior art are the mounting arrangements disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. to Alden et al (566,883), Perks (1,756,259), Gammeter (1,792,083), Metzger (2,540,793), Tocci-Guilbert (3,036,412), Lonaberger et al (3,566,547) and Freerks (4,455,788).
Basically, most of these mounting arrangements employ a pair of opposing plates or flanges mounted in some manner on an arbor or driven shaft with the cutting or grinding blade or wheel disposed therebetween. The flanges are then clamped together by a fastener applied to the outer end of the shaft. Additionally, as exemplified by the Alden et al, Lonaberger et al and Tocci-Guilbert patents, many different types of members are utilized to apply resilient clamping forces on opposite sides of the wheel. While many mounting arrangements of the prior art would appear to operate reasonably well and generally achieve their objectives under the limited range of operating conditions for which they were designed, most seem to embody shortcomings which make them less than an optimum design. For instance, many employ a multitude of parts which have to be aligned and assembled together each time the wheel is replaced. The greater the number of parts used in the mounting assemblies the greater the opportunities for something to breakdown. Thus, the reliability of such mounting assemblies is reduced.
Consequently, a need still exists for a different approach to design of a cutting or grinding disk or wheel mounting assembly. Such approach should make manufacture and assembling of the mounting assembly easier and reduce the number of parts utilized so as to minimize the time required to assemble and disassemble the mounting assembly and improve the structural integrity and reliability thereof.